Grover Cleveland: Born: March 18, 1837 Died: June 24, 1908 Term: 1885-1889 Vice President: Thomas Andrews Hendricks Term: 1893-1897 Vice President: Adlai Ewing Stevenson Political Party: Democrat Overview:
Grover Cleveland was the first and only president to ever leave the Oval Office and then be re-elected. Cleveland always stood by his policies even if they were unpopular, such as his policies during the depression. He stuck to want he thought was best. He was a good president but not great. He receives a B for his two, nonconsecutive, terms.
Cleveland’s big campaign issue and goals was to lower the McKinley Tariff. He was against high protective tariffs because he felt that there should be very little, if none, government involvement with businesses. He was a big supporter of the gold standard in America. He was also against imperialism and expansion. This showed with his policies of not annexing Hawaii because Hawaiians wanted to remain separate for America. “Uncle Jumbo” was pretty successful in his goals, if not his first term it was in his second.
Cleveland had an interesting relationship with Congress. He vetoed hundreds of bills to give pensions to Civil War veterans and purchase seeds for Texas farmers but also passed many laws. Overall thought it was a good relationship. Congress agreed with Cleveland’s wish of lowering protective taxes when the Wilson-Gorman Tariff Act was passed. The Hatch Act gave money for agricultural experiments. The Interstate Commerce Act was a great law that was passed. This was the first attempt of the government to put regulations on the corrupt railroads that had so much power.
As good as the Interstate Commerce Act was, the Repeal of the Sherman Purchase Act was Cleveland’s best decision. The Panic of 1893 was largely caused by silver backed money being put into circulation. Cleveland, being pro-gold standard, wanted to get all the silver out and allow only good into the treasury. This repeal did just that. It’s the best decision because that helped, not only the current situation, but also all similar events that could possibly occur.
The worse part of Cleveland’s presidency was the Panic of 1893. Although not caused by him it was a blemish. He did do a good job on trying to fix it. He worked mainly on the treasury and not businesses and farms. He brought back the gold standard and borrowed a lot of money from J.P. Morgan to fix the depression. This along with the way he treated railroad strikers were not his best decisions and were very unpopular.
“Big Steve” had much influence of the future of America. He lowered taxes and funded experiments on agriculture. He was the first to put regulations on the railroad to help rid the nation of corrupt leaders and Congressmen. His biggest influence was the Repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act. This helped keep a stable currency for the nation and increase the value of the dollar.
Overall Cleveland was a good, solid president. He deserves a B. He lowered taxes, regulated railroads and brought back the gold standard in the United States.
Works Cited
Degregorio, William A. The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents. Fort Lee: Barricade Books, 2005. Print.
Grover Cleveland:
Born: March 18, 1837
Died: June 24, 1908
Term: 1885-1889
Vice President: Thomas Andrews Hendricks
Term: 1893-1897
Vice President: Adlai Ewing Stevenson
Political Party: Democrat
Overview:
Grover Cleveland was the first and only president to ever leave the Oval Office and then be re-elected. Cleveland always stood by his policies even if they were unpopular, such as his policies during the depression. He stuck to want he thought was best. He was a good president but not great. He receives a B for his two, nonconsecutive, terms.
Cleveland’s big campaign issue and goals was to lower the McKinley Tariff. He was against high protective tariffs because he felt that there should be very little, if none, government involvement with businesses. He was a big supporter of the gold standard in America. He was also against imperialism and expansion. This showed with his policies of not annexing Hawaii because Hawaiians wanted to remain separate for America. “Uncle Jumbo” was pretty successful in his goals, if not his first term it was in his second.
Cleveland had an interesting relationship with Congress. He vetoed hundreds of bills to give pensions to Civil War veterans and purchase seeds for Texas farmers but also passed many laws. Overall thought it was a good relationship. Congress agreed with Cleveland’s wish of lowering protective taxes when the Wilson-Gorman Tariff Act was passed. The Hatch Act gave money for agricultural experiments. The Interstate Commerce Act was a great law that was passed. This was the first attempt of the government to put regulations on the corrupt railroads that had so much power.
As good as the Interstate Commerce Act was, the Repeal of the Sherman Purchase Act was Cleveland’s best decision. The Panic of 1893 was largely caused by silver backed money being put into circulation. Cleveland, being pro-gold standard, wanted to get all the silver out and allow only good into the treasury. This repeal did just that. It’s the best decision because that helped, not only the current situation, but also all similar events that could possibly occur.
The worse part of Cleveland’s presidency was the Panic of 1893. Although not caused by him it was a blemish. He did do a good job on trying to fix it. He worked mainly on the treasury and not businesses and farms. He brought back the gold standard and borrowed a lot of money from J.P. Morgan to fix the depression. This along with the way he treated railroad strikers were not his best decisions and were very unpopular.
“Big Steve” had much influence of the future of America. He lowered taxes and funded experiments on agriculture. He was the first to put regulations on the railroad to help rid the nation of corrupt leaders and Congressmen. His biggest influence was the Repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act. This helped keep a stable currency for the nation and increase the value of the dollar.
Overall Cleveland was a good, solid president. He deserves a B. He lowered taxes, regulated railroads and brought back the gold standard in the United States.
Works Cited
Degregorio, William A. The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents. Fort Lee: Barricade Books, 2005. Print.
"Grover Cleveland." The White House. Web. 18 Nov. 2009. <http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/grovercleveland22>.